Trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) is used in high concentration for the isolation and purification of protein, such as recombinant alpha-interferon, from fermentation mixtures during commercial production. Consequently, large quantities of TCAA are generated in the waste stream. TCAA is corrosive, is not biodegradable and requires disposal in an environmentally acceptable manner.
The Merck Index, 11th Ed., (1989) p. 1515, discloses the decomposition products of TCAA as being chloroform, HCl, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Methods for the chemical decomposition of TCAA are known. For example, Verhock, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 56, (1934) 571, describes a process for decomposing TCAA comprising heating various salts of TCAA at 70.degree. C., to form chloroform, carbon dioxide and small amounts of HCl. This process is unsuitable for the commercial destruction of TCAA because the chloroform produced is a suspect carcinogen creating new handling and disposal problems.